Merck Raises 2026 Sales Outlook After Third-Quarter Lift

The Tip Desk · October 29, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter sales reached $18.1 billion and the company now expects full-year sales of $66.8 billion to $67.3 billion.

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) reported third-quarter 2026 worldwide sales of $18.1 billion, up 5% from a year earlier and 4% excluding foreign exchange, and narrowed and raised its full-year sales outlook to $66.8 billion to $67.3 billion from $66.3 billion to $67.3 billion.

The pharmaceutical company said sales growth reflected continued strength in oncology and animal health, plus contributions from other products in a broader portfolio, including WINREVAIR. Sequential sales were $16.6 billion in the second quarter and $16.3 billion in the first quarter.

GAAP earnings were $2.04 a share and non-GAAP earnings were $2.49 a share. Both figures include a one-time charge of $0.12 a share related to a global license agreement with SciBrunch Therapeutics. GAAP EPS was down 12% from the year-ago quarter and non-GAAP EPS was down 3%. The company said the SciBrunch charge was not previously included in the full-year outlook.

KEYTRUDA/KEYTRUDA QLEX sales were $8.6 billion, up 6% including 6% excluding foreign exchange, with KEYTRUDA QLEX contributing $830 million. The company said growth was driven primarily by global uptake in earlier-stage indications including triple-negative breast cancer, cervical cancer, head and neck cancer and bladder cancer, as well as higher demand in metastatic indications including urothelial cancer. WINREVAIR sales were $694 million, up 93% and 94% excluding foreign exchange, after $588 million in the second quarter. The company attributed the increase to higher demand and favorable U.S. wholesaler and specialty pharmacy purchasing patterns, plus launch uptake in Europe and Japan.

Animal Health sales were $1.7 billion, up 4% and 3% excluding foreign exchange. Livestock sales were $1.05 billion and Companion Animal sales were $628 million. Pharmaceutical sales were $16.3 billion. The company said the increase was driven primarily by KEYTRUDA/KEYTRUDA QLEX, WINREVAIR, GARDASIL/GARDASIL 9, WELIREG, ENFLONSIA and the inclusion of OHTUVAYRE sales, with growth benefiting from the timing of purchases by approximately $550 million. OHTUVAYRE contributed $184 million after the October 2025 Verona Pharma acquisition. JANUVIA/JANUMET fell 39% to $380 million and BRIDION fell 67% to $144 million on generic competition.

GAAP gross margin was 72.9%, down from 77.7% a year earlier, primarily due to higher amortization of intangible assets, restructuring costs and production costs. Non-GAAP gross margin was 81.4%. Research and development expenses were $4.5 billion, including a $400 million SciBrunch license charge and higher clinical development spending, partly offset by a $200 million reduction under a funding agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences. The company said GAAP EPS declined primarily because of higher operating expenses, higher amortization of intangible assets, higher net interest expense and increased restructuring costs, partially offset by operational strength and a lower effective income tax rate of 8.9%.

At ESMO Congress 2026, the company presented first-time pivotal data from Phase 3 trials across its oncology pipeline, including TroFuse-005 for sacituzumab tirumotecan in advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, for which the U.S. FDA accepted a biologics license application with a PDUFA date of June 15, 2027. The company said it is in discussions with the FDA and is hopeful for an earlier approval. It also presented INTerpath-001 results for intismeran autogene plus KEYTRUDA in resected stage IIB-IV melanoma, in collaboration with Moderna. The company voluntarily withdrew the I-DXd biologics license application for certain patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. It announced an exclusive global license agreement with SciBrunch for MK-2690 (SPR2015), an investigational oral KRAS G12D inhibitor.

The company now expects full-year 2026 non-GAAP EPS of $2.77 to $2.82, from a prior range of $2.66 to $2.76, including one-time charges of $3.62 a share for the Cidara acquisition, $2.31 a share for Terns and $0.12 a share for SciBrunch. It said the outlook does not assume additional significant potential business development transactions.